ISLANDWOOD EDUCATION

Discovery, Environment and Community.

The Graduate Residency in Education, Environment and Community at IslandWood program trains teachers to create learning environments that offer every child the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of both human and natural communities. Our docent "Judy" helped us gain a deeper appreciation for the facility.

The program setting reminded me of a scene out of Avatar, smack dab in the heart of the woods on an island - after all, it is appropriately called a "school in the woods". The furniture in the dorms and areas are made of recycled wood and the legs are leftover lumber remains. The classrooms are filled with students and educators, one set learning how to appreciate the naqtural beauty of Islandwood and how to conserve the surrounding environment; the teachers on the other hand learning how to effectively convey that message.  The roofs are "solar friendly" and engineered in a way that the direct sunlight can maximize the lighting in the rooms and the hall. The cafeteria had to be my personal favorite, next to the restrooms of course. Every room has a purpose.Students are encouraged to "weigh the wasted food" to see how much was wasted and it is used as compost for use in the gardens. The compost toilets were a bit much for me but it was a totally cool option and no, it did not smell.

The kids learn from the time they wake up in their luxiourious sustainable wooden dorms to  the time they march to lunch and back.

The mantra that "Sustainability is an attitude" is instilled with these children, That we have to start caring that everything we do has a consequence. Every strip of trash, every wasted energy, it all has aa start and an ending. It does not simply disappear.